The faith of a Prostitute

Joshua sends out two spies in the second chapter of the book of Joshua to travel to Jericho. They encounter a prostitute named Rahab. Word gets out to the king of Jericho that Israelites are in the land so he sends men to capture them; Rahab hide the men on her roof. When the pursuers inquire if the men had come to her. she lies and tells them they were here, but they left. Pursue them out of the city gate so that you can find them (Joshua 2:1-7).

Rahab goes to tell the Israelite spies that she knows that the Lord has given them the land and all of Jericho is in great fear because of them (Joshua 2:9). She goes on to declare that we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above on the earth beneath (vs 10-11).

I want to point out that this woman is a pagan. On top of that she is a hooker! So she is a no doubt a lowlife in society. But what is commendable about her is her faith in God. How did this faith develop? 1) She travels back in time and recounts when God delivered His people the Hebrews out of Egypt during the time of Moses during the Exodus. The Exodus from her time was 40 years ago. Although she was not an eyewitness, she no doubt believed in the word of the Lord. Romans 10:17 tells us, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." 2) She responded with reverence and fear for God. 3) She asked the spies to protect her and her family when they conquer Jericho since she treated them with kindness by hiding them and lying to their pursuers about their whereabouts. It is important that I point this out: although God generally hates lying, I believe out of fear for the God of Israel Rahab deceived the spies' pursuers so that God through the spies she concealed would deal favorably with her and save her family. For her righteous defiance of the authorities and faith in God who were the Lord's enemies, God would extend grace to her and her family.  Rahab believed she was under no obligation to reveal to the police the spies true whereabouts knowing that Jericho was facing divine judgment. Her fidelity was to God, not to them, or the king of Jericho. After the pursuers left, Rahab let them escape through her window by a rope (Joshua 2:15).

Because of Rahab's faith, she is mentioned in Hebrews 11:31, "By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along those who were disobedient (italics mine), after she had welcomed the spies in peace.

Also in James 2:25 Rahab is commended by her genuine faith accompanied with works when she received the spies and refused to turn them in to the authorities, but hid them and sent them out another way,

When Israel conquered Jericho Joshua told the two spies (their names are never given), "Go into the harlot's house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, as you have sworn to her." So the young men who were spies went in and brought out all her relatives and placed them outside the camp of Israel. They burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, they put in the treasury of the house of the Lord. However, Rahab the harlot and her father's household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho (Joshua 6:22-25).

 Rahab's legacy is that she is a physical ancestor of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5).

Praise God for Rahab. Her faith in God saved her and her family (Luke 7:50).

Examining Deuteronomy 32

Deuteronomy 32 is called the Song Of Moses. This chapter discusses for Israel who God is; Creator and sustainer of the universe. He is the one that provided all their needs and fought all their battles. Because He (The Lord) loved them, He gave them the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey to possess it. Moses describes God's faithfulness against Israel's unfaithfulness. This song recounting Israel's past, present and future according to the time it was written by Moses around 1400 B.C. right before he died. Let's take a look at some passages to see what we can glean from them.

The past and present - Moses begins by commanding the whole earth to listen to his words for they are like rain that waters the earth. Dew upon the grass, and fresh rain drops on the grass (vs 1-2). Moses is commanding all to acknowledge the Lord and give Him praise because all His ways are righteous and true. There is never injustice with God (vs 3-4)! Despite God's faithfulness to His people, they have been unfaithful to Him - serving false gods and thus provoking the Lord to anger and retribution on them for their sins (vs 5-17). 

The future (according to the time of Moses) - Moses declares that foreigners will prevail against Israel and overtake them because of their hatred of the Lord. Anyone who does not faithfully obey the Lord hates Him (John 14:15). As a result, God must judge them severely bringing evil and misfortune against them - teach them harsh lessons for their disobedience. Israel's enemies will become arrogant and believe their own power has defeated Israel. This attitude will provoke the Lord against Israel's enemies. Once God sees that Israel has been humbled because they will have no more strength to rebel or fight, the Lord will fight for them and rescue them from their enemies (vs 18-38).

verse is 39, "See now that I, I am He, and there is no god beside Me. It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is none that can deliver from My hand."

This verse speaks obviously to the omnipotence of God Almighty. God will avenge Himself against all His enemies - those that hate Him. God is indeed a jealous God. For those that defy Him will utterly regret it.

Moses read these words in front of the entire congregation of Israel. He told them to take heed to all these words and teach them to your children. Why? So that later generations will learn to obey the words of the Lord. Moses declared to them that the words he spoke are not idle words, but they are LIFE WORDS (Proverbs 18:21). God is the of author life and the words He speaks generate life - life everlasting. This was the song Moses gave to the people before his death. They are a loving warning to the children of Israel and by extension a loving sober warning to all people.

In the final analysis the equation is simple: God is good to us and we have to be good to Him. That is the only way our lives will be fulfilled with blessing. A good life is never free from trouble and heartache, but a life that is in Jesus Christ is the richest most fulfilling life one can have. What can be better to know that the Lord loved you enough to suffer and die in your place for sins and bring you into the kingdom of His dear Son (Colossians 1:13)?

The great faith of the criminal on the cross

One of the criminals crucified with Christ to me is one of the most admirable people I have never met. Why? Because of his character. I want to take a few moments to carefully analyze his words. 1. He rebuked the other criminal for his insolence of the Lord and admitted that they were guilty and justly condemned for their crimes

When the other criminal demanded that Jesus save him because he wanted a get-out-of-hell-free-card, the contrite rightly rebuked telling him, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Rarely do we hear people taking responsibility for their sins. This shows tremendous character on the part of this justly condemned. I used the word sins on purpose because our society looks at it as an antiquated word that it would love to totally dismiss from our vocabulary forever. The problem that most do not realize is that sin is an infectious disease of the soul that most of the world will die from - not only physically, but eternally. Sin is worse than any disease that man has ever suffered and died from. Fortunately there is an only cure. Believing in what Christ did for your sins when he died on the cross - that his blood washed them away forever. 2. The criminal knew Jesus would rise from the dead

The reason why we know this is because he asked Jesus to remember him when he comes into his kingdom (Luke 23:42). It would not have made any sense for him to ask Jesus about His kingdom unless He was going to rise from the dead. Dead men have no kingdoms! This was exhibiting tremendous faith by the criminal who knew he deserved to go straight to hell for his crimes. Jesus dying in agony having love and compassion for this man said, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). What this means is that Jesus saved this man on the spot. Why? 1) He knew he deserved to die for a life of rebellion against God and man. 2) He cried for mercy from the Lord which tells the writer that He knew Christ was the only one who could forgive him which is an acknowledgement of Jesus’ power to pardon his sins. 3) This evil man believed in the power of resurrection which demonstrates his great faith - something not even the disciples believed initially when the women declared to them that Jesus was alive on the third day (Luke 24:10-11). I praise God that this account appears in scripture. We learn how all people should respond when they face the Lord Jesus Christ. The lesson comes from the most unlikeliest of sources - a condemned penitent criminal. We must defend the Lord’s honor by those who disrespect Him. Admit that we are being justly condemned for our sins. Beg for mercy from the Lord to save us and remember us when He comes in His kingdom.

The Importance of Godly Repentance

Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will likewise perish."    

                                  

                                                                                                                                    - Luke 13:1-6

Jesus was making the point that just because some die tragically and others do not, does not mean the deceased are worse than those who remain alive. The point Jesus is driving home is repentance. I brought this matter up because of the Coronavirus pandemic we are dealing with worldwide. As of this writing, 2,320,316 infected cases have been reported worldwide, 589,573 recoveries, and 158,781 deaths. 733,367 infected cases are in the US which make up 31.6% of all global cases provided the statistics are true.

Whether one is faithful church attendee, a volunteer at a homeless shelter or look after the sick and elderly in a nursing home, does not mean you go to heaven when you die. Many people believe their "righteous deeds" will earn them a trip to glory, no (Ephesians 2:8-9). While those things are humanly admirable and kind, unless one genuinely repents of their sins, they will perish (in hell). One CANNOT use their works as means to get right with God. It is an affront to God for one to assume that God must receive them into His heaven because they think they are good enough.

In Proverbs 15:8 we read,"the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the righteous is His delight." Proverbs 21:27 says, "the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, how much more when he brings it with evil intent?"

God is disgusted with the deeds of evil men because it does not proceed from a humble heart that is interested in giving God glory. Works righteousness are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

Jesus was loving His audience (and by extension us in the present age) by warning them of the extreme importance of not having mis-perception about the death of others. In other words, no one is better than anyone else essentially. Why? Because we are all sinners and objects of God's holy wrath until we repent. We MUST feel the same way about our sin as God does - we must hate it! We should be guilty about it and sorrowful. We shouldn't just say, "Oh my bad!" As if our sin is no big deal since everyone sins. We need to understand that when we sin we offend the Lord Almighty which is the greatest offense of all (Psalm 51:4). That is why John said we are to confess our sins so that God can forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). 

In 2 Corinthians 2 Paul urged the members at the church of Corinth to repent. Paul had visited them and it did not go well. He in turn wrote them a letter which he had delivered to them by the hand of Titus (known historically as the severe letter) expressing his heart which caused the church sorrow. In the letter Paul was urging the Corinthians to repent which Titus reported that they did which was a joy to Titus and Paul (2 Corinthians 7:6-7). Although Paul was discouraged by the Corinthians, he had confidence that they would do the right thing - exhibit the the right attitude and receive Titus. Titus gave Paul the report that they had received him with love, and that they also expressed their love for Paul which no doubt invigorated Paul's heart (2 Corinthians 7:7). The aim of Paul was to produce godly sorrow in them for the purpose of repenting - not ungodly sorrow that leads only to ongoing impenitence and a hopeless death. Godly sorrow that leads to repentance and life is far better than the joy of the wicked which leads to death.

Genuine sorrow for sin will always result in a penitent, contrite heart that longs for God to forgive their wickedness and save them from His just wrath. That is the point that Jesus was addressing in Luke 13:1-6. All must repent or you will ultimately perish, forever separated from God.

Did Jesus preach the Gospel to the spirits in prison?

In 1 Peter 3:18-20 we read these words, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who were formerly disobedient, when once the Divine long suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared in which a few, that is eight souls were saved through water” (NKJV).

The phrase He went and preached to the spirits in prison, is a subject of debate. Some, perhaps many that are aware of this account in the church believe this means Jesus between His death and resurrection went to an area in the underworld called paradise and preached the gospel to Old Testament saints like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Daniel, Isaiah, etc. Jesus had to reveal to them that He was the Messiah they must believe in order to receive salvation so they could be taken to heaven when he led captivity captive (Ephesians 4:8).

The word preached in 1 Peter 3:19 is the Greek word kerusso. It means to proclaim or herald. It seems strange to me that OT saints’ spirits would be in prison in the underworld for Jesus to have to release. Jesus proclaimed victory over the rulers of darkness when He died on the cross. The spirits that are bound in prison are evil angels and demonic spirits, not the spirits of OT saints. These are the evil spirits that scholars believe (and I) are those spirits that did not keep their estate or original abode (Gen 6:1-4; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6). Remember there were angels in Genesis 6 that co-habited with women and produced a hybrid offspring – giants some believe. This was prohibited by God. As a result of their sin, God cast them down to Hell – (Greek word Tartarus) in chains and of darkness to await judgment (2 Peter 2:4).

What does the phrase He led captivity captive mean?

In Ephesians 4:8-9 we read the following, “When He ascended on high, He led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men. In saying He ascended, what does it mean but that He had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?”

A common interpretation of these two verses is that Jesus went into Hades or Hell – the non-tormented part and led the OT saints out of captivity from their “prisons” and took them to heaven. Since they had not heard the gospel and Jesus hadn’t died yet, in order for them to be released, they had to believe in Jesus first, then He would take their spirits to heaven. This of course they believed happened between His death and resurrection. I see no proof of that account in scripture.

Where many get tripped up is when reading the phrase, “He descended in the lower regions of the earth. The word lower is the Greek word katōteros. In context the apostle Paul is making reference to two things. 1) Jesus descended from heaven to earth in His incarnation. 2) Jesus death and His resurrection from the dead.  The second reason is most likely more accepted than the first.

Now, the meaning of He (Jesus) leading captivity captive is making reference to delivering all of us who were captives and prisoners of sin. Jesus has freed us from the sin slavery market. Jesus was victorious over His archenemy Satan and his demonic host. Jesus crushed the devil’s head (Genesis 3:15). If one insists on the more popular view, then you have to believe that only the OT saints were captive to sin which is of course is not true. The Bible declares to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So as soon as a believer dies, they are in the presence of the Lord – that would include OT saints (2 Corinthians 5:8). We see a clear example of this when Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt 17:2; Mark 9:2).

So, the preaching mentioned in the 1 Peter 3:19 is not evangelism to OT saints.

When they died their spirits immediately went to heaven because they were already redeemed. Remember what Genesis 15:6 declares, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Meaning when Abraham took God at His word, the Lord justified him on the spot. His spirit did not have to go the underworld and wait 2,000 years later for Jesus as a spirit preach the gospel to him so he could believe. When Abraham walked the earth he already was a believer in God because the gospel had already been preached to him (Galatians 3:4).

Jesus’ preaching in 1 Peter 3:19 was a proclamation of victory over the forces of darkness bound in the blackness of hell for their sin. Colossians 2:15 declares that He defeated them openly, triumphing over them in it. Jesus publicly defeated and embarrassed them when He died on the cross. Jesus’ human humiliation was also His greatest triumph by crushing Satan and liberating all His captives.

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

This is an age old question. I feel it is an appropriate one to ask in light of what the world is dealing with right now with this current worldwide pandemic Coronavirus (COVID-19). At the time of this writing in the US there are 50,818 confirmed cases, 333 recoveries and 678 deaths. Globally there  are 414,485 confirmed cases, 108,263 recoveries and 18,576 deaths. These numbers are according to WHO, CDC, CCDC and ECDC.

These are alarming statistics considering we have only known about this pathogen for about 3 months. The question has already been asked countless times, "Why is this happening to us? Are we in the last days?" Perhaps others are asking themselves is this a judgment from God? Fear has gripped the world. Hysteria abounds. Why else would people in a panic fight in the store aisles over toilet paper as if it can somehow save you. I still haven't figured out why people would want to hoard toilet paper. If this was the end of the world which it isn't, what in the world is toilet paper going to do for you? 

Foolish! That is an aside. Back to the matter at hand.

So, why do bad things happen to good people? If one follows that logic, many will conclude God is not fair. He is lumping the good with the bad. The answer to the question is there are no good people!  Jesus said there is no one good but God (Matt 19:17a; Luke 18:19). 

The overarching reason why we are dealing with this pandemic or any evil at all is because of the original act of sin. We must trace this back to the beginning with our first parents Adam and Eve. When they sinned by disobeying God back in the Garden of Eden, God cursed them both and told Adam before they even sinned if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would die (Genesis 2:17).

Well they did and they are dead. And please understand when God pronounced judgment on them, He pronounced it on all of the human race - their descendants (Romans 5:12). That means you and I.

Well that's not fair is it? Why should we have to suffer and die for the sin of someone else? It's Adam and Eve's fault we are in this mess! They are the ones who disobeyed!

Yes. That is all true. But, we do not determine the rules of engagement, God does.

The Bible through Paul the apostle said, "In Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22). 

We are all products of our parents. Like begets like. So when Adam sinned, he and Eve inherited a sin nature and became sinners. Since every human being was in his body when he sinned, we inherited that same sinful nature thus making us guilty by association. We have the physical characteristics of our parents, we also have their mental and spiritual faculties as well. God designed us that way. Everyone and everything produces after its own kind. See, we are not islands where we are impervious to each others sinful acts. The greater the influence a person has over other people, the greater the blessing and benefit or the greater cursing and misfortune those under their authority receives (i.e. Presidents, Kings, Prime Ministers, et al). We are not responsible for other people's sins (Ezekiel 18:20), but we may suffer for those sins - in other words we may become collateral damage for the misdeeds of others. 

Be very very careful who you associate with. Bad company corrupts good morals (1 Corinthians 15:33).

Jesus who is called the last Adam in scripture came to save the lost through forgiveness of sins and reverse the original curse. Jesus is the Life-Giving-Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45b). You see, Jesus was also tempted by Satan in the wilderness, but unlike Adam, Jesus obeyed the Father and never fell into sin (Matt 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:3-13). What this means is that God had always planned to save man from his hopeless sinful condition when Adam fell in the garden. God covered their nakedness, shame and guilt by killing and animal as a sin substitute (Genesis 3:21). This was the first act of forgiveness by God for sin.

Here is a better question against the original question, "Why do good things happen to evil people?" All people receive grace everyday. Most people receive the common blessings of the rain and sunshine, food, clothing, money in our pockets, employment, family, a home. A lot of us have more than what we need. So are we going to look at this one pandemic and conclude God is not good? This has not caught God by surprise. For reasons only known to Him, He has allowed it I believe as a ongoing judgment and wake up call against mankind's sins. The numbers do not lie folks! Thousands have died and there could be who knows how many more. It has crippled the world! Everyone is on edge. We are quarantined. Jobs have been lost. Schools are closed. Entire countries on lock down. Public gatherings reduced to 10 and in some places no more than 2 with social distancing. We can only have worship services in our homes via live stream. Thank God for the internet. Instead of those of you who are mad, cursing, and shaking your fists at God, drop to your knees and repent of your sins today, trust Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul and follow Him with the rest of your life. None of us know if we will be alive after this virus is contained and hopefully killed.

When one is ignorant of why evil happens in our world, they will chalk it up to bad luck, bad karma, putting negative energy in the universe, etc. Many at this time will break their necks to go to Church as well to try to absolve their guilt with the Lord hoping this will be the "quick fix" they need to make their lives normal again.

For the time being dealing with COVID-19 is our new normal. We have no idea how long it will last. That is why we need to be praying constantly for the mercy and power of God to prevail. Understand that none of us are essentially good. For those of us who are in Christ, we are forgiven, clothed in His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). For those that are still in their sins, the wrath of God abides on them which is the greatest curse of all (John 3:36).

Death and Life are in the power of the Tongue

I cannot speak for anyone else, but for this writer, this verse in Proverbs 18:21 has been somewhat of a challenge over the years. Why? Because if one takes these words literally, then some if not many will believe that we can produce death or life with our words. Is that true? Can we do that with our words? What is the writer Solomon telling us in this verse?

First of all, I would like to convey what he is not saying. This verse by no means is saying we can literally bring about life and death by our words. Our words do not have that kind of power. Only God has that ability. God is the one that calls things which do not exist as though they did (Romans 4:17).  So, the power of positive confession although popular is not Biblical.

To help define this verse, we need to look at other verses. Please remember that the best interpreter of scripture is scripture. Here is what we read in Proverbs 15:4, “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” In Proverbs 10:11 we read, “The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.” In that same chapter, verses 20-21 we read, “The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; The heart of the wicked is worth little. The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom.” Here are a couple more: “There is one who speaks the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health” (Proverbs 12:18). “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 12:22a).

The tongue or better yet our words do have great power and influence. What comes out of a person’s mouth proceeds from the heart or our innermost being (Matthew 15:18).

So, if you are one that is negative, pessimistic, and egotistical, that is what will proceed out of your mouth. This is also what will govern your behavior. Your tongue will be an instrument of death to those whom you hate. But be careful, the same hateful speech you vomit out, will find its way back to you in judgment. Conversely, for those that are tenderhearted, encouraging, loving and truthful as we already read, that person’s words will be invigorating, edifying, refreshing. They will enjoy the fruit of their lips.

So, by no means is the writer trying to say that if we speak positive things over our lives, that is what we will receive. To me that is New Age Mysticism. Or if someone attempts to speak evil over someone’s life so that person’s life is cursed – that sounds like Voodoo.

Our words can and do affect lives positively and negatively.  But it is essential that we do not take the phrase “Death and Life are in the power of the tongue” too far. This is not nor has it ever been about positive and negative confession. No one ever receives what they want by “speaking it into the atmosphere or universe.”  I was foolishly taught years ago if you positive confess something over and over, eventually it will come to pass. God never commanded this. Jesus commanded His disciples in Mark’s gospel to, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22).

We petition God for what we desire, and if we trust and believe what we have asked Him for, we will receive it if we do not doubt. But it is important to know that it is not in the eloquence of our speech, or in the intensity, volume or cadence of our tongue that is going to move God to act on our behalf. God will only grant a prayer request that will honor and give Him glory. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” We must analyze our motivation for prayer. Are we simply praying to get what we want, or are we praying to lift up the name of Jesus? We should always pray because it is our way to commune with the Father and to give Him praise; acknowledging the Lord as our all-in-all for only He can meet our every need and desire.

Concluding, death and life are in the power of the tongue is an eye-opening truth revealing to all what our words can do positively and negatively. Remember what Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:34;Luke 6:45). So, what are you filling your heart with: good or evil things? That determines if your tongue is a tree of life or is a fire full of deadly poison ignited by hell (James 3:6-8).